This week, 20 bright high school and college students began their six-week “Summer in the City” internship with the City of Knoxville. They were welcomed at the start of Monday by Mayor Madeline Rogero, who shared with them an overview of City government.

“We’re very excited about this year’s class,” said Carol Mahler, Human Resource Office Manager in the Civil Service Department and supervisor over the Summer in the City program. “We’ve got some very talented, very skilled individuals who underwent a rigorous vetting process to be selected.”

With 40 impressive applicants in total, it was a very competitive selection process, to say the least. Each intern interviewed with representatives from each of the 12 City departments and two City contractors hosting interns this summer.

The City departments and contractors hosting interns in the program include:

Knoxville Area Transit

Knoxville Police Department

Sustainability

Engineering

Community Relations

Communications

Parks and Recreation

Public Service

Pension Board

Finance Treasury

City Court

Knoxville Fire Department

Public Building Authority

SMG

Each intern, ranging between the ages of 17 and 22, will work 30 hours per week over the six-week internship. The interns are paid $8.75 per hour through grants and some City funding.

In addition to shadowing a “mentor” in the City departments, the interns will hear from a keynote speaker weekly on topics related to the workforce and other life skills.

The interns are also doing weekly work on a community project with the Knoxville Alzheimer’s Association to paint a public mural that will be unveiled at the end of the program in late July.

When the internship comes to an end, Mayor Rogero will hold a discussion with the interns about what they learned and how they can use their new knowledge in their future careers.

“Ultimately, we want to give these kids tools that they can use for life and get their feet wet in a career they may choose someday,” said Mahler. “These are very bright, talented youth and hopefully, some of these interns will return to us one day as future City employees!”